Big data constantly grows. Predictions are that it will continue its’ expansion at around 60% yearly. Therefore, it is obvious that enterprises need a place where their growing database is living.

Database that runs on the cloud platform – Cloud Database – provides this much needed space. There are two ways this can happen.

First – is to run one’s own database of the rented space (a server, virtual server, shared server or whatever) in the cloud service.

Second option would be a Cloud Database, which is provided by the cloud provider hosting a database and providing user access to it. Depending on what the service provider has, it could be the database of choice of the user:

In the virtual machine image deployment mode for a Cloud Database users could purchase server space from the provider. It is possible to run a database of the user’s choice and upload a machine image with an optimized copy of the database of choice. You could set up such a Cloud Database very easily as product vendors make it simple with readymade images for this purpose. Oracle 11g Enterprise edition ready to go image for Amazon web services the EC2. One could set up a Cloud Database with Oracle for Microsoft Azure, the same way.

A Cloud Database service provider may also have a database as a service or DBaaS. One big advantage of this mode of Cloud Database is that it is the service provider responsibility to keep the software current and manage maintenance needs. Users can simply pay as you go (based on usage) if the portfolio has the database you need. Amazon, for example offers “SimpleDB” and Amazon relational database service as well as “Dynamo DB”. The first one is a No-SQL service while the second offering offers SQL interface. Microsoft Cloud Database service on the other hand offers Azure version of the SQL Server database.

In a third option, Cloud Database hosting provider can support a third party offering of database as a service. Cloud service provider Rackspace for example, provides MySQL service in dedicated as well as in cloud hosted mode. Cloud Database No-SQL Database through Object Rocket’s MongoDB as a service is available on Rackspace. MongoDB-as – as a service is also available on Amazon web services as well as on Azure. Consoles provided by the cloud service providers help access and use the database instance. Users are able to launch Cloud Database instances, create backups and monitor the operations.

Choice of databases in the Cloud Database includes both the SQL and the No SQL Database products.

Common SQL based Cloud Database include Oracle, SQL Server, NuoDB, Maria DB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc. Scaling up with these older versions of databases may be difficult on the cloud platform because they were designed before the advent of the cloud as a computing platform. Thus, they may have limitations in quick scaling. Cloud Database services based on these databases have started to evolve to make the scaling problem easier.

Cassandra, MongoDB or the CouchDB are the newer No-SQL Databases and have to inherent limitations in scaling up/low. However, since existing applications mostly in SQL, it is not very easy to migrate these legacy applications into the NO-SQL Cloud Database services.

If you have any further questions regarding Cloud Database and its functions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are always happy to help!

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